The Present
by Lex The Worm
Summary: The trio from the last deleted story has been pushed to their actual present, landing in Artemis Fowl's backyard. Artemis thinks this may be his lucky day, but is it? Some people will be popping up. Quite OOC for Artemis, isn't it? No pairings involved.
1. Prologue

Hello. This is my first time that I am posting a story on FanFiction, so please give me some good reviews!

P.S It is not completely a Artemis Fowl story.

PP.S I do not own Artemis or anyone in the story except (the person) I, Chris and Tom.

PPP.S Proceed at your own risk!

* * *

Prologue

**Excerpt from Artemis Fowl's diary, disk 1 (encrypted)**

_Today I have been plotting the greatest plot to steal a priceless painting from the Ireland Art Museum. The piece of art was marvellous! It was called the "The Fairy Thief". The painting was about a fairy thief stealing candy from a baby. This might be a connection to the fairy People. And no doubt this artist must know something about the fairy People, but ah, Butler was right. It might just be a natural guess. Yesterday I saw three boys about the same age as me lying on the Fowl Manor backyard floor. They told me about their last encounter with this Ramloja. I knew who Ramloja was. He was the world's greatest criminal in the world, no doubt. They told me he committed suicide in a building with a bomb, and all their past adventures. I was, for once, actually surprised from that. They had gone through so many things, even almost gotten blown by a bomb, and is still alive? Marvellous! They'll make good companions. No doubt they are smart, for if they were still alive to this date, they would have been using their intellectual side of their body. So today, I will let them rest a bit while I go to the National Art Museum today to do some picking. I suspect that there's some priceless painting in one of the safe deposit boxes. If I can bring it back here, it would be the greatest stolen art piece in history..._


	2. The Painting

Chapter 1: The Painting

**Ireland Art Museum, Ireland**

"Quite the thing you have in mind, Artemis." Butler said.

Butler was, no, not really a butler, is in, "Would you like to have tea?" Butler but as in a bodyguard. He had been sent to Madame Ko's academy of body guarding, so he knows fist fighting, gun fighting, and all sorts of stuff. He always has his Big Sauer handgun with him, always.

All the guards outside had 1911.45 handguns, but, not to Artemis surprise (he's always not surprised), guards inside the building all had Saf 43mm rifles. Security inside the building was heavier than the outside. Smart enough for the typical thief, but not for Artemis Fowl.

"I feel uncomfortable in these _jeans_. And my sweater, I feel like a walking advertisement! I miss my suits." Artemis complained.

"You'll get used to it."

"I hope _not_."

Butler drove into the bank's carpark, locked the car, and proceeded to the bank entrance.

At the bank entrance, Butler whispered into Artemis' ear, "Stick to the plan."

Artemis did not reply, for they were already at the reception. Whispering to his "grandfather" would seem suspicious.

"Hello," He said in very fluent Irish. "I would like to open my new safety deposit box, please."

"Yes, sir. Please fill in this form, sir." The receptionist replied.

"Here, it's done. Can I proceed now?"

"Yes, sir. Come with me."

The receptionist led the only two customers to about 500 km belowground in a Toshiba hi-speed lift used in the Taipei 101 tower in Taiwan. _Brilliant technology,_ Artemis thought. _I should buy one of this for home use._

The lift came to halt five seconds later. The lift door opened to reveal a huge Plexiglas glass container. _They are really protecting it with their life._ He thought.

A grumpy man was seated in the metal filled space. "Howdy." He said.

Artemis was just about to reply when Butler cut him off. "Howdy to you too."

Artemis kept quiet. It would be best to let the adults converse by themselves.

"Please step through the metal detector." The man said.

Butler thought for a while. If he was caught with his Big Sauer handgun, then what would he do?

"Please, step in."

He had no choice. He stepped in, and nothing sounded. Strange. He would have to figure this out back at Fowl Manor why didn't the metal detector sound.

"Your turn, boy."

Artemis stepped in. _BEEP!_ Whoops.

"What was that?"

"Oh," Artemis said. "It was my retainers."

Artemis showed the guard his fake retainers.

He hesitated for a while, and then said, "Okay. Go."

_Whew!_ He thought. _Close one!_

"Oh, and, for security reasons, we only allow you to have three minutes in there. If in three minutes you don't come out, we will go inside there and bring you out."

"Okay." Butler replied.

When they got into the room, they started executing the plan.

Butler took out a piece of paper and started working. He held up the paper to the camera, making sure that the guard was not looking in their direction. Artemis took his scooter from his bag and reached for the switch for total blackout. He took his night vision goggles and wore it. He also gave Butler one of the night vision goggles. Artemis reached for the switch and pressed it using the scooter. Hopefully the guard would not see the rod and enter the Plexiglas container. Artemis took one step back, and then swung the rod at the switch.

Total blackout. The guard was blinded and frantically searching for his torchlight. Artemis moved fast. He took his X-ray goggles and placed it over his night vision goggles. While Artemis was searching for the painting, Butler grabbed the torchlight, making sure the guard would not get it.

"Butler," Artemis said into his microphone. "I think we found it."

"Then hurry up," Came the reply. "I don't want this guard to come stomping at me."

Artemis knew Butler's job wasn't easy. So he decided to follow orders. He used a lock pick to pick the lock. It opened to reveal a rolled up piece of old paper. He quickly stuffed it inside his bag and all the remains that were left. He then closed the safe deposit box and mended the lock.

"Butler," Artemis said. "I'm good."

Butler nodded and threw Artemis the night vision goggles. Artemis stuffed it inside his bag and gave the signal. Butler gently put the torchlight in front of the guard, and the guard picked it up.

Just then, the lights flickered to life and the Plexiglas door opened, although it was always open all the time (Um, do you get what I mean?). The guard heaved a sigh of relief and got back to Butler and Artemis.

"Are you alright?" The guard said.

"Yes. Can I go now?" Butler replied.

"Yes, sir," The receptionist said. "Come with me, sir."

Butler entered the lift with Artemis. Before Butler and Artemis left, the guard said, "You two look suspicious. Who are you?"

When the door was closing, Artemis said, "I'm Artemis Fowl."


	3. Awakening

Chapter 2: Awakening

**Fowl Manor, Ireland**

I woke up to find myself in a room that was what looked like one of Fowl Manor's rooms. Chris and Tom were lying beside me. Eh? Where was Artemis? Maybe he went stealing priceless artifacts again. So, I decided to snoop around a bit.

Nothing really interesting in the bedroom. Just beds and tables. Ah, but there was one computer at the side of the room. I turned it on. Username and password. Always that case. Username? Artemis. Password? I tried the Fowl family motto, _aurum potestas est_. Gold is power. Got in. Ah, but again to my dismay, it was all encrypted. A fingerprint swipe. Interesting.

"Trying to snoop around?"

I spun the chair around to find Artemis staring at me in a quite happy mood.

"Oh, hi Artemis. Sorry for that. Where did you go?" I replied.

"I found 'The Fairy Thief', sorry, _stole_ 'The Fairy Thief' from the safety deposit box at the bank and went to the National Art Museum to find the other half, while you were sleeping, of course."

"So you just came back?"

"Yeah."

Just then, Chris woke up.

"Hm? Oh, hello Artemis." Chris said groggily.

"Hello, good friend," Artemis replied. "Are you wide awake or still half-dead?"

"Now I'm wide awake." He said in the wide awake tone.

"Good. Tom, I suppose you have woken up?"

"Yeah," Came the groggy reply. "I'm wide awake."

"You don't sound so."

Changing his tone, he said, "Now I'm wide awake."

"Okay. Good. Now, we have to go down to the Lower Elements for a while."

"Why?" I asked.

"Holly needs some help."

"With what?" Chris said.

"She needs us to do something. But she wouldn't tell me on the phone, so I suppose we'll have to go down and investigate."

"Oh whatever." Everyone said.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes we are." I replied.

"Good," Artemis said. "Now let's get started."


	4. Down Below

Chapter 3: Down Below

**Haven City, The Lower Elements**

Holly was making her was down the steps of Haven City's footsteps at the Grand Copter near the LEP (Lower Elements Police) office. Ah, this criminal was with a long record indeed. Robberies, accidents, cooking... You name it, he's done it!

"Move!" Holly shouted to the criminal in handcuffs and shoved him.

The pixie muttered something, and then scowled at Holly. Hmph, grumpy guy.

Holly arrived at the LEP's lobby and took the hi-speed lift to the... Ooo, let's just say it was the 100,600 out of the 120,000 floor. Ah, The Lower Elements were a bunch of criminals indeed. Famous criminals were finally captured and put here, thanks to, of course, Holly. But still there were some other criminals that have not been captured into custody. One of them was a klelptomatic (is this spelt correctly?) dwarf, by the name of Mulch Diggums...

Mulch Diggums was 5000 km below the ground digging for some earth to swallow. He has been digging for so long that actually his unhinged mouth was not tired (funny, huh?). Dwarfs are made to tunnel, tunnel, and tunnel, as once Mulch's professor said, so he was better off chewing rather than getting caught by the LEP.

"Mhis is mice!" Mulch gabbled.

"This is taking long..." I mumbled.

We were stuck in the lobby of the LEP office with nothing but a theory saying that we know Holly Short of the LEPRecon unit. Of course, the receptionist refused us with a flick of his hand. Right now, Artemis and Butler were in the lobby, trying to convince the receptionist into letting us through. I wonder, could he really be all that powerful, Artemis, or is he just a fake?

Artemis broke my thought bubble when he came storming out of the building.

"So?" I enquired.

"We can't get in. Drats. We'll just have to find another way into the... Ooh, let's see," Artemis pressed a few buttons on his Nokia E99 and instantly replied, "The 100,600 floor."

"Wow. That's a very high level even for me!" Chris exclaimed.

"Yes, I know. Now, shall we?" Artemis said.

"Game on." I replied.

**Unknown**

"Argh!"

Ramloja got out of the rubble that was on him.

"Imbeciles! You three imbeciles! I will have my revenge soon enough!"

**The 100,600 Floor, The Lower Elements**

"There. We're here. After all eternity!" Artemis said sarcastically.

I also couldn't believe it myself. Paintings, troops, criminals and, at the end, Holly.

"You know who's Holly, right? Since you only met her one time." Artemis said.

It was true. I only met the pretty elf once, when Artemis retrieved me from his backyard. Describe her? Now that is one hard one. Let's just picture a pretty girl in your mind. It can be anyone, just someone pretty. Then change the skin colour to green and make the lips redder. Alter the hair colour to red. You should have gotten her picture in your mind now, because—

"Hey!" Holly shouted from the end.

"Let's just go." Tom said.

"Hey! Old friend." Holly exclaimed.

I just couldn't make out why were their eyes brown and blue. That's it; I am going to ask Artemis personally when we get back to Fowl Manor.

"Hello you four. I believe that you came because I called you?" Holly said.

"Yes," I said. "We did."

"Good," Holly heaved a sigh of relief. "We have a big problem on our hands. A new yakuza..."

She went on for a couple more minutes, explaining about the new group that was terrorizing Haven City, and how they were short of men, but still could hold on.

"We're not use to this kind of attacks. We never even had a fight with a yakuza!" She exclaimed.

"So you're trying to say that this yakuza are humans?" Chris enquired. "And they are short of men and you are no match for them in any way except—hold on, don't you have firepower?"

"Yes, we do, but all of them were destroyed."

Foaly appeared at the doorway, with four LEP suits.

"Here," He said, tossing the suits to the four of us. "You're gonna need it very much."

Foaly, a centaur. Smart, intelligent, decimator, inventor, supplier—

Well, most of it was brains.

He took off in a rush, not saying goodbye. Busy, maybe?

We wore the suits and set up everything. We tested everything, only to find out that...

Ramloja was standing there with the yakuza.


	5. The Return

Chapter 4: The Return

**Alex**

"Kill them."

Uh oh. Ramloja was in a completely crazed state from last time. Wait—didn't he die the last time?

"Why are you here!? Didn't we kill you?" Tom shouted over the roar of the yakuza members.

"You know him?" Artemis enquired.

"Yes. He was our arch-enemy. We did kill him the last time, but how come he's still here?" I replied.

"Ha ha! That will be revealed soon enough."

One of the yakuza members stepped out and took out a silenced P99.

_Pttt! Pttt!_

The two silenced bullets hit the wall, ricocheting to one of the cages, unlocking the door.

"I'm free!"

The goblin ran out, obviously elated to get out of the cage.

I took out a more powerful Neutrino 2000 and pulled the trigger. A burst of energy shot out from the Neutrino and sparks fled.

_ZAP!!!_

It electrocuted most of the people, but some were still standing.

"More firepower!" Ramloja ordered, taking out his Saf 43'. The others followed suit.

_KAPOW!!!!!_

We hid behind a wall... But the bullets ate most of it.

"Get down." I ordered Artemis.

Artemis was not used to taking orders, but what the hey, it's life or death.

_ZAP!!!_

Holly reduced the number to even the odds. There were only four yakuza members and Ramloja left.

"Why don't you just die, Alex, die?" Ramloja taunted.

He took out a D.A.D System and shot one round.

_BOOM!!!!!_

The whole floor was on fire.

"Let's get out of here, fast!" Chris shouted.

We took the stairwell, avoiding the yakuza's bullets.

"Er, excuse me, but, isn't this the 100,600 floor?" Tom questioned.

He was right. We were never going to get down fast enough to actually escape alive.

"Oh, right. Excuse me." I said.

I opened the window, donned my bag, and jumped.

"Ta-ta!" I screamed.

"Are we really going to do that?" Artemis enquired.

"YES we are. Now go!" Tom said.

Before Artemis knew it, he was pushed down the building and freefalling.

"Heaven help us if my parachute doesn't open." Chris prayed.

And he fell.

I opened my parachute early enough to view my surroundings. There were many people watching us from below, obviously. The commotion must have attracted the police, as well, because I could see a lot of red and blue lights. Ramloja was above, obviously surprised to see us jumping. Lo and behold, he jumped too. Wow. Now that is daring.

_BOOM!!!_

The whole of the upper floor collapsed. And with it, the whole building.

Collateral damage.

Anyone that was actually within a one meter range will die, but thank goodness nobody was there.

_Phew!_

We landed in an alley not far from the building. Time to run!

I ran as fast as I could, pushing through all the reporters and photographers that were questioning me. Ramloja was right behind me, and if he catches up, you wouldn't want to know.

_I should think that Ramloja would have dropped the D.A.D System in the building. It is too heavy to parachute and carrying it on the streets would look suspicious._

It was true.

I ran to the nearest alley, Artemis right behind me. In the alley, there was a small sign. It said, "DEAD END".

I stopped in my tracks, looking behind me. Ramloja was there, holding a 1911.45 gun. Why does he have to be the odd one out?

"Stay behind me." I ordered Artemis.

He understood what was being told and stepped back, fearing something. It was, obviously, the fear of getting shot.

"I did not come for revenge," Ramloja said, pointing at Artemis. "But for him."

"How did you come back?" I shouted over the roar of sirens.

"Oh well, the last time you met me, you bombed me, right? You thought I was dead. But no. I got out of the rubber, called some of my old friends, and we gathered together to plan an attack against you. Against my life-takers. I hope you will—"

His voice was interrupted by a blast from a remaining yakuza member, the last one. He was carrying a D.A.D System, of course. He ran as fast as he could and grabbed Ramloja.

"Let's get out of this place. The big one is here!"

I couldn't resist a wide grin. The whole idea was for Butler to ambush anyone who tried to come inside, although I wasn't actually expecting Ramloja to come here.

_POW!!!_

Butler punched the last yakuza member and he fell to the ground. Ramloja quickly retaliated with a knock from the 1911.45 gun. Ouch.

Butler still didn't stop. He pulled Ramloja to the ground, punching Ramloja flat in the face. Ramloja dealt a punch to Butler stomach but he still didn't barge, so Ramloja reached for the gun which was just an arm away. I sprinted to the gun and kicked it away from Ramloja. I jumped on the free part of Ramloja, and dealt a punch to his cheek. After that, I lifted him up and threw him on the ground again. He took out a secondary gun and shot Butler. Even a trained man like Butler could not take it, so Butler fell to the floor. Then, he shot Artemis. Knowing Artemis, he could not resist even an insult. So what right makes him resistant to bullets?

I leaped for Ramloja just as he was about to shoot me, so he tumbled badly. I dealt a punch to the stomach, knowing that could not resist it, but lo and behold, he shot me right in the left part of my chest.

Before I even knew it, I was out cold.


	6. Puzzled

Chapter 5: Puzzled

**Beware!** Some parts may not be suitable for younger than 10s.

**Chris**

**Tan T****ock**** Seng**** Hospital, Singapore**

I woke up to find myself sitting in a hospital bed. Strange, this hospital didn't seem like what a Chicago hospital would look like.

I looked around to take in my surroundings. Maybe I could find something that could help me in my puzzle.

There were several chairs around the bed. The room was actually very big. Beside me was a water cooler; on the other side were some flowers. Now, to find out were the others were.

I got out from my bed, just in time to see Alex strolling in from the left side. Strange, I didn't notice the connecting doors.

"Hi there." He said.

"Um... Hi?" I replied.

"Do you know where you are?"

"No."

"You are in Tan Tock Seng Hospital. You are in Singapore."

"WHAT!?"

"Yes. We came all the way from Chicago to here, Singapore."

"But how is that possible?"

"Even the doctor who found us didn't know. So, I guess Ramloja must have dumped us into the sea or something, because the doctor said we were lying on the sea shore. Flat in the face."

"That moron Ramloja! Why in the world are some people just so irritating!?"

"Now, calm down. If you are recovered, you pack up, and come with me to the next room."

"Okay."

I did as I was told and changed, and put my hospital clothes on the bed nicely.

All done, I said to myself. I strolled into the next room just to see Alex sitting beside Holly.

"How is she?" I asked.

"Well, the doctor said that she is a bit unstable, but she'll make it. But I know the original cause." He replied.

"Huh? Why is Holly a human girl?"

"Well, before she passed out because of Ramloja, she changed into a human girl, tricking Ramloja. But Ramloja saw through it, and knocked her out. I guess Ramloja must have thrown her aboard the same helicopter as us, because the doctor found her with us. The original cause is because she transformed."

"Oh, I see."

"Hello." Tom said as he strolled into the room.

"Hi." Alex replied. "Had a good night's sleep?"

"Yes."

Just then, Holly woke up.

"Wha... Where am I?" She said.

"You are in Singapore." I replied. "Our actual home."

"Huh? How did we get here?"

"I will explain everything later. Now, our top priority is to get out of here." Alex budged in.

"Where's Artemis?" Tom enquired.

"I will explain everything LATER. Now let's go."

We sneaked out of the hospital after Holly had packed. Sneaking out actually made it worse. Everyone carrying a gun chased us. Perhaps, Ramloja put up a wanted sign for us, because everyone was chasing us to the ends of the earth. Hooligans picked up their 'threatening' guns and started chasing us.

"I think I'll shield and meet up with you in a safe place, wherever you are." Holly shouted over the roar of the people.

She disappeared into thin air, leaving behind only a speck of dust.

Looks like we were on our own this time. We didn't bring our guns when we got out because we couldn't find them. Drats!

Suddenly, Tom pulled out two Thompsons and started firing. Whoa! Since when did anyone go to the gym so often that he could carry two Thompsons?!

Then Alex pulled out his P99 and started firing as well. Who provided them with guns!?

Well, it also seemed like I also had a Neutrino 2000 in my hand, so I fired away.

_KAPOW!!! ZAP!!! KAPOW!!!_

Almost all were down. Now, it is time to finish the last one standing.

I squinted to see the last one standing. To my surprise it was—

"Ramloja," Alex said. "Clever man."

Ramloja came closer and closer at an alarming rate, and soon, he might hit us.

But Ramloja jumped two squares ahead, and was heading straight for the water tower.

"Look out!" Tom shouted.

Ramloja had shot the water tower and had sent the water straight at us. The water was coming at a funny rate, going at approximately 500 k/m per hour.

_Strange._ I thought. _The water shouldn't be so slow._

Then, I got it. The debris should be blocking the water for a few minutes, because this area was surrounded by cars, buildings and lots of other things that could slow the water down.

The water was speeding up now, at about 600 k/m per hour.

The three of us ran to where Holly had told us to wait, while still monitoring the water's speed. _700 k/m per hour._ I thought. _It's going too fast._

We picked up our speed a little bit faster as the water was only meters away.

"Run!" Alex shouted.

It was at a death speed. 900 k/m per hour.

The water was now only inches away.

_Uh oh._ I thought. _1000 k/m!_

The water connected with our bodies, and swept us away.

"Grab on!"

Holly was hovering above us, still shielded, but due to our wear-it-once-and-you-will-see-through-things contact lenses, we could see Holly.

Tom and I grabbed on. She used all her might to pull up our bodies from the water.

Right at that point, I remembered something.

"Alex! Hold on!" I shouted.

I grabbed Alex by the wrist, and we both locked it. The safest way to hold someone.

A few minutes later, when we were in the air, all hooked up in Holly's Moonbelt, I could see that the whole road was flooded.

"So," I asked Alex. "You were saying that you would explain everything later, right? Why don't you explain it to me now?"

"Do you really want to know?" He replied.

"Yes I do."

Tom never spoke a word, but he listened intently. Holly also concentrated her eardrums on us.

"Well, actually, Artemis is now at Fowl Manor."

"What!?"

"Yes. He is there because Butler took him back as he couldn't stay in the ward with Artemis. Now, Artemis is under safe observation by Butler."

"But why didn't Butler take us back?"

"Well, carrying four people is a bit suspicious..."

That was true.

"We're here." Holly informed us.

We landed on Fowl Manor's rooftop. When I get in, I will need to clarify some things. But first, maybe I could have a relaxing bath...

**Fowl Manor, Singapore**

"Well," I said as I was in the Jacuzzi with Alex and Tom. "This is good!"

"Of course it's good. We haven't bathed for days."

Artemis came in, sinking in the small circle.

"Ah... Finally, I got a taste of peasant life."

"Mind if I join in?"

I virtually choked on my saliva as she stood there with a bathrobe. It was Holly!

In one split second (really), she undressed and sunk into the Jacuzzi.

"Wow. That was fast." Tom said.

"It's really funny now that an opposite gender is now in the Jacuzzi with us." Alex emphasized.

I could see that Artemis' cheeks were a bit red, being the closest to Holly. Not the typical Artemis...

"Well, enough of the gazing, and mouth-opening, let's talk shop." Alex broke in.

"Why do you have a Fowl Manor in Singapore?" Tom enquired.

"Well," Artemis shrugged. "I actually don't know."

The crowd stared at him.

"Okay, let's get out of here." Alex rushed through.

Fowl Manor in Singapore was quite inferior compared to the one in Ireland. This one had a big sofa, a big dining table, a Toshiba plasma television with a Blu-ray player, and many more.

Everyone sat in the sofa with relaxation and ease. They could get away from the action for a while.

"So," Chris asked. "What do we do next?"

"Well," Alex replied. "We have got to move out quickly. If we don't get out, we'll be tracked."

"That's true. The authorities are _already_ tracking us." Artemis backed him up.

"Well, we can rest for a while." Tom said. "Ramloja will also be tracking us, and his range of *ahem* _tools_ will track us faster than the authorities."

Then, a big explosion came.


	7. Tools Of Fury

I am adding a new POV now. It is from Rush's POV. Reviews would be nice in this case.

* * *

Chapter 6: Tools Of Fury

**Tom**

"Why do you always make it harder for me?" Ramloja said.

Ramloja stood there with his henchmen and Saf 43's. Uh oh.

"Attack!" He shouted. The henchmen took us by surprise and fired. We dodged them and hid behind the sofas. I reached for my gun. Nothing but air.

"Alex! Chris!" I shouted. They cocked their heads at me. "Got any gun!?"

They both shook their heads. Even Butler was without a gun. Dammit! If we have no guns, we're worthless.

Then suddenly, I heard three guns being shot at them. I peeked over and saw...

"Rush! Giorgio! Evan!" Alex, Chris and I shouted in unison.

"Yo." Evan said coolly.

"Here, I knew you three like this. And for you, Butler, you get your Big Sauer." Rush said.

He handed us a P99 each and the Big Sauer to Butler.

"Let's go." Rush ordered.

We advanced towards the henchmen, and shot them down. One was charging towards me and knocked me down. I dealt a counterattack to his stomach and pushed him out of my way. I was just about to grab my P99 when he grabbed my leg and flung me towards the window. Fortunately, I crashed on the side of the window. But, OUCH! He ran towards me and dealt a ram to my stomach, head first. _OOF!!!_ I fell to the floor and stayed there. Suddenly, Rush and Alex came to my rescue. They slammed a crate on the man's head, but he still didn't budge.

"That attack won't work on me!" He said.

That line sounds familiar.

He grabbed the two by the wrist and flung them to the wall in front of him. He dealt a knockout punch to Rush, but he was wearing a hard and bulletproof vest, so he didn't feel the pain. Rush dealt a punch to his head, but nothing happened. The man punched Rush's head and he fell to the ground. He then dealt a barrage of punches to Alex's stomach but he still didn't budge. He used his P99 to shoot him but it seemed as if he was wearing a bulletproof vest, because it had little effect on him. The man then took Alex's P99 and shot Alex two times in the chest. He fell down to the ground, unconscious. Filled with rage, I stood up. I took his P99 from his hand and shot the man two times in the leg.

_This is for you, Alex._

Then, I punched the man several times at the head, and dealt an uppercut.

"Oof!" The man let out a grunt.

The man fell to the ground and—wait, _fainted!?_ After all this? A faint?

The rest were either have fainted or injured on the ground. The remaining henchmen tranquilized the injured. I was all alone.

_What to do? Wait... That's it!_

I fell to the floor.

**. . . . .**

I awoke in the back of a truck, and managed to observe my surroundings.

The whole gang was there, along with the three newcomers. I squinted to find Artemis in the darkness, but he was nowhere to be found. Strange, and maybe, worse.

I squinted some more and saw Giorgio waking up.

"Giorgio?" I whispered.

"I'm here." He replied with a slight tinge of tiredness in his voice.

Rush awoke with a grunt.

"I'm here, too." He said, still grunting.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. Just painful."

"Maybe it's the knockout punch." A voice bellowed in front of me.

I saw Alex sitting up straight in front of me. His eyes were visible in the darkness, for some reason. Then, a light flicked on.

"I've got a torchlight." Alex said.

In his hand was a hand gun exactly the same as Rush's. The hand gun was equipped with a torchlight that was stuck to the gun at all times.

Just then, three lights flickered on.

"We've got it too." Evan replied.

_Wak!!! I don't remember him waking up. Why does he always scare me!?_

"Well," Alex continued. "It seems that if you are in the darkness, use this... Hand gun. If you are perfectly fine with the darkness or if it is bright, use the P99."

It seemed as if he didn't know what the name of the hand gun was. Strange, he should have known.

Just then, more lights flickered on until the whole container was illuminated by light.

_They're all awake._

I started by pulling out my Swiss Army knife and cutting through my ropes, starting with my hands. Then I cut the legs. After that, I helped everyone to release their ropes. While doing that, I noticed that Holly wasn't there. Strange. Everything was strange.

Everyone stood up gently and quietly, making sure that the people in front could not feel the vibration. Then we talked.

"So, how do we get out of here?" Chris asked.

"There's only one way." Alex responded.

Without asking, we heaved all our might on the door and went tumbling out.

I landed on the smooth floor with, literally, a "thud" sound.

"Thank you for using Ramloja transportation and we hope to see you again." A voice said from down the hall. The echo emphasized the words even more.

I looked up to see Ramloja and the remaining henchmen from last time walking towards us. I turned around to see the truck on a treadmill. Wait. It was a trap!

Ramloja fired his D.A.D System at us, sending us to the ends of the earth.

_BOOM!!!!!!_

I was flung nearer to the henchmen. I took out my P99 and started shooting.

"Looks like you forgot to take my gun!" I shouted as I walked towards them, shooting them down one by one as they came.

Ramloja was a bit shocked, but he recovered from it quickly. He fired another round of the D.A.D System, and just as the others got up, they got blown away by the explosion again. Giorgio managed to catch up with me, and shot them one by one with me.

_BANG!!! BANG!!! BANG!!! BOOM!!!_

A grenade swept the remaining henchmen off the floor. Even Ramloja flew away. I turned around to see Rush throwing another hand grenade on them.

_BOOM!!!_

Ramloja stood up and started running towards us. Uh oh.

He took out his D.A.D System and fired the remaining four rounds at us.

_BOOM!!!_

There was a big explosion as the four rounds touched the ground. The rest were hurt, but not us.

_BANG!!!_

A gun shot was fired from behind us and reached Ramloja's leg. I turned around to see Alex sprinting towards us.

Ramloja howled in pain, and then ran off.

We chased after him only to see him getting up a helicopter.

"Ha ha! You idiots! Did you think you could really stop me?" Ramloja taunted.

Just then, the rest of the group came back.

"Well," Ramloja continued. "Since all of you are here, I can actually announce something. Your Holly and Artemis are with me. Boo hoo! How sad!"

He took the struggling Holly and held her up in the air.

"This is the last you will see of her!" Ramloja shouted as he was lifted off of the ground.

Then, he took another D.A.D System from the helicopter and fired it at Holly.

_BOOM!!!_

Holly's parts were all scattered around the floor, to such an extent that even warlocks could not heal it.

"Ha ha!!!" He said as he disappeared.

I looked behind too see the astonished faces off the whole team. Then, I noticed something.

Where were Alex and Rush?


	8. Beat It!

Chapter 7: Beat It!

**Rush**

We climbed into the helicopter and found Ramloja sitting inside with a pilot and a henchman. It seemed as if the henchman was highly trained, with the most advanced weapons, including a D.A.D System that was just given to him.

"Use it wisely." Ramloja ordered. "We don't want this helicopter blowing up."

Alex climbed in from the other side. He took off some of his guns, and only had a P99 strapped to his waist, sitting perfectly in the holster.

He nodded and proceeded to the back first, checking what was at the back.

I followed suit and trailed behind him. I saw numerous henchmen sleeping in the double-decker beds above, so I tried not to wake them up. Instead, I silently knocked them out with a punch. Alex also did the same.

We arrived at the boot and found guns. There was a Hutchinson A3 (Shotgun), a Saf 5', a P99, and a D.A.D System. Alex took a D.A.D System and clipped it on his belt.

I had everything I needed, so I just assumed a position of over watch.

"Block! Tackle! Where are you!? I need those spanners!" Ramloja shouted from the cockpit.

_Uh oh._

I walked quickly to the cockpit, and saw Artemis with Ramloja. Ramloja seemed to be torturing Artemis with a gun, but maybe perhaps not giving him the spanner would help Artemis. The pilot was conversing with his co-pilot, navigating to what seemed like a fortified base, from the picture attached to the map of Singapore. I could hear pieces of dialogue from them.

"... Maybe we should take this way..."

"... No, this way! Stealth..."

"... The reservoir is too deep..."

"...Trust me..."

"... Are you sure that it is the MacRitchie reservoir that you want to go to?"

Ah, now that was a valuable piece of information.

"Where is my spanner!?" Ramloja shouted, breaking my trance.

I quickly took a spanner and walked towards him.

_Now this will be fun._

"Here's your spanner," I said. "But it won't land on your hand."

Ramloja looked up and stared at me, wide-eyed.

"It'll land on your head."

I took the spanner and knocked it on Ramloja's head, making him howl in pain and fall down. _Ouch. That must have hurt._ Ramloja got up quickly, recovering from his knockdown. He retaliated by landing a punch in the stomach and then grabbing my head, knocking it several times against the chair. Alex joined in, shooting Ramloja's leg two times, and then holstering his gun while he charged. Ramloja was rammed into the co-pilot's chair, making the co-pilot ram into the controls in front. The helicopter suddenly spun uncontrollably: the pilot accidentally pressed the _MANUAL PILOT_ button.

The henchman got up and started attacking Alex. I got up from my dizziness, telling myself that I did not get up; Alex would be dead by now. I started by taking out my hand gun and shot the henchman until my clip was out. I reloaded it, filling the hand gun with 16 fresh bullets. The henchman lay motionless on the floor, obviously dead. I shot Ramloja in the other leg, making Ramloja fall to the floor, vulnerable to any punch or kicks from anyone. Alex did the final blow kicking Ramloja in the stomach.

"Steer!" I ordered.

The two pilots dutifully turned around and switched the settings back to its original state.

"Go back."

They steered back towards the base, wanting to talk to each other, but remained quiet.

I left them and went to where the unconscious Ramloja was sitting.

"What am I going to do with you?"

**. . . . .**

"Over here!" Giorgio shouted.

We landed with a smooth landing as the helicopter touched down right in front of them.

"We need to get out of here and into Ramloja's base." Alex briefed the others. "It's our only chance of finishing this once and for all."

"But we don't even know where it is." Chris shouted over the roar of the engines starting.

"Trust me."

Alex went over to where the two pilots were.

"Go. Go to your boss' base." Alex ordered the two pilots.

"But we don't know where it is." The pilot said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Look," Alex impatiently answered. "I know you know where the base is, so stop fooling around. I know you said something about passing through the MacRitchie reservoir, right? So stop giving me all this tomfoolery and go."

The two pilots were in a state of shock when he heard this statement. They obviously didn't know someone would actually listen to their conversations.

The two pilots recovered from their shock and steered.

**. . . . .**

"This is the furthest we can go if you don't want to be caught by radar." The co-pilot said, landing in the middle of the jungle. The pilot was not driving because he was accidentally knocked out by Tom. So much for tomfoolery.

"The base is over there." He continued, pointing at the behemoth structure.

"Thanks." Chris said and used a silenced P99 to shoot the co-pilot two times in the head.

"Why did you do that!?" Artemis said, unusually surprised by the violence going on.

"So that he won't go back and report." Alex said as he was putting blocks of C4 on the helicopter.

Before anyone could ask why he was doing that, he said, "You'll see."

_SWISH!!! SWISH!!!_

The bushes were nosily being pushed aside by everyone as they passed through. We were near the giant base. Just by a little bit. Everyone was given a silenced P99, just in case we needed to take them by stealth.

"Hey, you!" One of the guards pointed at Alex and ran.

Or maybe not.

Alex pulled out a tiny detonator, flipped the safety cache, and pressed the big, red button.

From far away, a big explosion came.

_BOOM!!!_

All of the guards rushed to the fallen helicopter, forgetting that there were intruders in the compound. Everyone took out the silencers from their guns and kept moving. Most of them switched guns. Only Butler didn't.

We ran inside the base before the garage doors closed shut. I did a head count. Seven of them. Strange, there should be one more.

Butler!

A ran to the small window at the garage doors and found Butler banging on the door. Obviously, he was not heard by anyone, because the garage doors were made of steel, and not even a gunshot could be heard, much less a knock.

I looked again to see Butler being pulverized by a D.A.D System shot.

_SPLAT!!!_

Blood was covering the window.

"Okay," I announced. "Artemis, you are the last survivor of the Fowl family in this group."

Artemis was shocked to hear this. He understood right at that time that Butler was gone from this world. Gone. Nonexistent.

He sank to the floor. He found a Big Sauer, Butler's Big Sauer, and shoved it into his pocket. He grabbed a lot of clips from the rack forcefully. For the first time, he actually felt angry and guilty at the same time.

"All right," Artemis said, filled with rage.

"Let's get to work."


	9. Revenge Of The Fallen

Chapter 8: Revenge Of The Fallen

**Somewhere Along The Coast Of Singapore**

"So they blew Ramloja up?"

The patrol guards were investigating the "crime" scene. It seemed as if somebody blew up the helicopter that was supposed to bring their leader, Ramloja back. Little did they know that the culprit was already infiltrating the base while all of the guards were investigating. The guards all had a standard gun called a M14. It was a single shot rifle that fires like a P99 or any normal hand gun but just that it has more bullets in a magazine (or a mag, in short form. It is also called a clip), and it can fire like a rifle or fire like a hand gun. Get what I mean?

"Sir, there are no traces of the captain or any remains of who caught him." One of the forensics officers said nervously.

"Idiot!" shouted a captain with many medals on top of his left breast pocket. He took out a 1911.45 hand gun and shot the forensics officer two times. The officer clutched his stomach, bearing the pain.

"You still don't wanna go down!? All right then, this will!" the captain shouted furiously.

He shot six more bullets into the guy's various body parts and he fell to the floor. Just then, a shot whizzed by the captain's ear.

_BANG!!!_

A sniper was on top of the enormous base, trying to assassinate the captain.

Another shot whizzed by the captain's assistant's ear.

_BANG!!!_

The captain's head bled profusely. The captain, being shot in the head, fell down to the floor.

The figure threw a small disc, and its razor sharp edges hit the floor, and stayed there.

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPP!!!_

The assistant knew what it was and ran for cover.

_BOOM!!!_

All of the guards were dead.

The assistant, being the only survivor, ran to the base, hoping to find the chairman so that he could send a garrison of troops to kill this person.

Just then, the figure clipped the gun on its back, and jumped down.

It landed with a soft thud.

The assistant knew that he could not make it any longer. He knew this person would kill him on the spot.

"What do you want?" he asked the figure as it advanced towards him.

The figure said nothing as the slim and sleek figure walked towards him. From there, he could make out a girl who was very young. She looked like a professional assassin and a professional bodyguard. He was slightly impressed by the young age and the talent that she possessed.

The girl stood in front of him. From there he could make out her facial features. Could it be? Could it be her? The most feared assassin?

"It's you... The famous assassin in—"

The line was cut off by dual katanas "slicing" his stomach. He felt nothing; it just felt like a wooden plank.

Then she pressed a button, and something began to make the katanas glow.

"Nothing." She had a slight Russian accent.

She swung the katanas again, but this time, it was with the aura around it.

_KASING!!!_

The assistant was sliced into two neat pieces. He fell to the floor.

"Phew," she sighed as she put the katanas back into their sheaths. "I almost got discovered."

**. . . . .**

Artemis slowed his pace down, tired from running.

"Artemis," Alex suggested. "Slow down. Save your energy for later. We don't even know what this place is or where is Ramloja's board meeting. He could be anywhere—"

Just then, an explosion erupted from the wall in front of them.

_BOOM!!!_

"You were saying?" Tom said.

"Wait... That's not a familiar figure." Chris said. "Who is it?"

A figure with dual katanas was terrorizing the place with an aura around the swords.

"Wait..." Alex said. "I know that figure somehow."

_Could it be her?_ He thought.

"Let's go." Raven ordered while still fighting the guards.

"Let's get the fun started." Wing said with a smile.

**. . . . .**

"What place is this? H.I.V.E?" Tom asked.

"You know these people?" Rush enquired.

"Yeah." Chris replied. "We knew them for a long time. Well, at least until you joined then we lost track of each other."

"This is H.I.V.E." Wing replied, oblivious to the intros.

"You mean..." Alex paused and stopped running. The others followed suit. "This is Ramloja's base!? H.I.V.E?"

"Well," Raven replied. "That was what Ramloja said it was when he saw us here. And he confined us."

"That means this isn't H.I.V.E?" Alex enquired.

"No," Wing replied. "He just assumed it was H.I.V.E. The others are safe at the actual H.I.V.E."

"So, can we blow this behemoth up?" Evan asked.

"Yes," Raven replied. "Otto is working on it now."

Just then, a voice blared above.

Otto's voice came out of the speakers. "All personnel, this building will self-destruct in 1 minute. If you want to live, you must come up and exit from the control door. But obviously, I will kill you if you do that. Please, come and try."

Everyone stared at each other as if Otto was mad. One minute? How were they going to get there in time?

"Oh," Otto's voice blared again. "A message to my fellow friends, you can make it."

**. . . . .**

"GOOO!!!" Rush ordered.

They were running to the control room's exit, but the timer showed that it was impossible otherwise.

"Five... four..." A voice blared overhead.

"Duck!" Giorgio shouted.

They all rammed onto the floor. Hard.

"... Zero." Otto said.

Nothing happened.

"HA HA HA HA!!!!!" Otto's voice blared into the speakers. "Nothing is going to happen to you!!! All you fools!! You think I would blow up this whole place with myself inside the control room? Use your brain!"

"That is... surprising." Wing raised an eyebrow.

"Not so. Let's go sneakily. I know him too well. He will blow up the place." Alex whispered so that the other henchmen could not hear anything.

They sneaked out of the place to see the Contessa standing in front of them.

"Need a helping hand?" She asked.

**. . . . .**

"What is that gas smell?" one of the henchmen asked himself.

Just then, ten figures whizzed by them in a flash, grabbing him by the collar.

"Wh..." he shouted.

But he was too late. He had already been silenced by a silenced P99.

_PPTING!_

He dropped to the floor.

**. . . . .**

"Let's go." The Contessa said. "We've got a ride to catch."

They flew over to the bay area where the control room was, and saw Otto, Shelby and Laura waving.

"They sure do know how to make a welcoming." Alex said into the helmet microphone.

"Listen," The Contessa said. "These will be your armor for until it breaks, which it never will because it is titanium."

"Really?" Chris asked. "So how do we attend meetings and look nice while still wearing this... I don't know... thing? This is—"

Just then, he knocked onto one of the metal pillars.

_THONG!!!_

"That's why to concentrate while you're flying." The Contessa smiled. "I will explain everything later. CHRIS! GET BACK HERE! He's still alive, don't worry."

"I'm... okay!" Chris' muffled voice came from the speakers in their helmets. "And I'm coming."

He got out of his trance and flew away from the pillar, suddenly very afraid of it. He checked his heads-up display to see a warning that read: MISSILE LOCKING ON.

"Um... guys?" Chris muttered.

"Yeah?" Evan responded with his sharp ears.

The sign now read: WARNING: MISSILE LOCKED ON.

"I think we have a problem."

The whole display was red and it read: WARNING: MISSILE FIRED.

"A big problem."

**. . . . .**

"Duck!" Tom shouted.

They all ducked and flew away from the missiles for dear life.

_NEEOW!!!_

It flew past them and turned around to speed up again.

"Let's get out of here!" Giorgio shouted.

"Wait," The Contessa said, smiling. "Have no fear. It's okay."

"WHAT!?" Tom shouted with fear. "We're all going to die and you say 'it's okay'!?"

The Contessa pressed a button and the suit projected a small missile.

"Watch and learn." She said.

She controlled the missile and directed it to the bigger missile that was heading for them at a gravity-defying speed.

The missile was drawing closer now, and it was closing in at a death speed. Just then, the missile split and several small grenades came out. Smoke emitted from the grenades and the missile exploded in a small atomic blast.

_BOOM!!!_

Everyone was flung onto various parts of the room, some landed on soft walls and crashed right through it. Some landed onto steel walls, and well, they weren't so lucky.

_THONG! THONG! CRASH! BOOM!!!_

An explosion occurred in the boiler room, which, very unlucky Alex was being flung inside.

_BOOM!!!_

"It's not meant to be resistant to explosions..." The Contessa said.

Just then three figures appeared from the air and grabbed them, sending them to the plane.

**. . . . .**

They put them in the seats and fastened their seat belts quickly. After that, they flew to the cockpit that was in the upper part of the plane.

The plane's cabin was nothing more than a small space designed for only eight people to sit. The cockpit was equipped with four seats for the pilot, co-pilot, and any other two people that you wanted to take care of specifically. The cabin had no windows whatsoever. It was a stealth plane, although the, _ahem,_ duo had been thinking that a stealth plane should be a small plane designed to have only one person in the cockpit and there were no passengers. Then, it hit Tom.

"Isn't this a Shroud?" Tom enquired.

"Yes this is," Shelby replied, pulling off her helmet.

"A what?" Artemis repeated.

"A Shroud," Chris replied. "It is supposed to be a passenger plane for stealth transport."

"Ding! Ding! You got the first prize!" Laura said as she took off her helmet and sat down, with Shelby following suit.

The girls sat down and talked about what happened just now.

"So all these things are connected to you!?" Chris said accusingly.

"Well," she replied. "You could say that..."

Just then, Wing came down from the cockpit. He was dressed in a full suit, carrying a 1911.45 in his hand.

"Yo, Wing!" Tom exclaimed.

Wing said nothing as he sat in the middle of the room, still very tensed and still clinging on to the gun. After a while, he raised the gun.

"Wing? Are you okay?" Shelby questioned Wing seriously.

"Idiots!" A voice said.

Wing's mouth was moving in sync with the voice, Chris thought. Suspicious.

And Chris's suspicion was correct.

A gunshot was fired.

Sending Shelby straight to the ground.

**. . . . .**

Raven was already very busy and angry with the controls staring in front of her. Nothing seemed to work except the autopilot control. She had the plane hovering in autopilot stationary mode. She is now reading the instruction manual for the plane, looking for the particular section of the buttons.

When suddenly, _BANG!_

She rushed down to the cabin just in time to see Wing shooting Shelby.

The Contessa quickly retaliated by using her special oral power.

"_Sleep._" She said with thousands of whispering voices in her sentence.

Until today, scientists cannot explain why The Contessa has these powers running in her family. She can use her power to cause the person that she intends to control, be in her control. So if she says stop breathing, the person will have no choice but to not breathe until if she says so. This ability is very lethal in the wrong hands. Oh, and choose carefully which side do you want to take.

"Wing" had no choice but to collapse onto the floor.

_THUD!_

He landed with a big thud.

Raven walked slowly to the assailant and drew her twin swords. She switched her setting to the blunt setting and hit the assailant two times on the back. She then placed them back in their sheaths and removed the assailant's mask.

Raven gasped.

"How could this be!? It's him!"


	10. Living On A Prayer

Please note that Rush's point of view is no longer valid.

* * *

Chapter 9: Living On A Prayer

**Alex**

"**H.I.V.E", Somewhere Along The Coast Of Singapore, 0800 hours**

"Uhh..."

I struggled to stand up, bearing the pain in my head. My head was already hurting from the knock. Wait a minute—why am I here alive?

I touched my body all over. My body was still intact from all scratches—but how?

Then, I looked down.

Debris of the suit that I was wearing protected me from the explosion, but it certainly did not help in cushioning the knock.

"And she said that it wasn't blast proof." I grinned to myself.

After a few minutes of less painful walking, I was able to walk properly.

I saw a hand sticking out of the rocks. The hand looked familiar.

"Wing's?" I mumbled to myself.

I jogged my way slowly to the hand and touched it. The hand was still very warm, and there was still a pulse, so maybe Wing was down there.

The hand suddenly raised itself and waved.

"Oughhherrr hherr!" The person shouted from below.

I pushed the rubble away from the person quickly. When he came out, he was taking in large chunks of air. The person was... you guessed it.

"Wing!" I exclaimed.

He hauled himself up to the top, and gulped in large chunks of fresh air.

"Fresh air. Finally." Wing monotonously said.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"I'm fine." He insisted. "We have to get to the others as fast as we can."

"Fine with me."

He struggled the first few steps, and then walked perfectly fine afterwards. We found a helicopter at the base of the whole thing, which was actually a river. We got onto it, and tried to start up the helicopter.

"No dice..." Wing muttered.

"Let me try," I offered.

"It's all yours."

I fiddled with the controls a little, and then gave up.

"There is really no dice." I said.

Suddenly, the helicopter emitted a beeping sound.

_BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEEEEPPPP!_

"Oh no," Wing said.

"Run!" I shouted, pushing Wing to the ground.

My head landed with a _thong_ on the cold, hard floor.

"Huh?" I muttered.

We were still in the helicopter.

"Are we safe now?" Wing asked.

"No we're not. In fact, we're about to die in the helicopter."

I pushed him one final time and he fell into the river, arms working to thread on the water. I quickly took action by looking at the display. One minute left. Just enough. I rushed to fish out my trusty Swiss Army knife. While pulling it out, I examined the display board. As soon as I found my knife, I already knew what to do. I quickly unscrewed the four nuts and uncovered the display. I quickly glanced at the remaining part of the display that held the remaining seconds. Thirteen seconds to go. I examined the inner part and found the wire. I changed the type of tool on my knife and cut the wire.

_THEET!_

I glanced at the time. Five seconds. I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Hey! What are you doing there!? Come down here!" Wing shouted from below.  
"Coming!"

I kept the knife and dived below.

_BOOM!!!_

I surfaced from the water just to find debris splattering all over.

"Fireworks," Wing grinned.

It was true. The helicopter's explosion made the helicopter look as if it just fired some fireworks on itself. The steaming hot fire blazed as the debris was scattered all over the place. The fire met its end by being put out by a mysterious person.

_Who is that?_

He came out of the smoke and revealed his tiny invisible face, followed by two other people. Their figures were masculine.

The person in front held up an empty water bottle that's capacity was approximately a litre, and threw it down.

I swam towards it and looked at the bottle.

It said: Property Of V.S.S.E.

I looked up.

We were saved.

**. . . . .**

"Come, let me help you up."

Rush and company heaved us up as they reached the top of the gigantic rock. It was quite a long distance up, but we still made it nevertheless. A helicopter was parked nearby. We were saved.

"Of course you are," a voice inside my head said.

_Huh?_

"Alex!" someone shouted into my ear.

"Huh?" I looked up to see the four of them standing in front of me. Their faces carried a worried expression.

"Are you okay?" Giorgio asked.

"I'm fine," I insisted.

We walked towards the helicopter. Voices still rang in my head.

_Of course you are..._

The voice sounded familiar.

**Somewhere in the air over Singapore, 1000 hours**

The helicopter's blades cut through the oxygen-deficient air, sending waves of wind down to the buildings below. I overheard that tremors were found near the island coming at fast speed. They were expected to arrive at noon. We had to get out. Fast.

I got up from my white bed, which was now stained from my blood. Apparently, my back had been cut, shot, and bandaged. My head was heavy, making me drowsy. I surveyed my surroundings, only to find that the cabin was empty. I looked further and found some soldiers, each carrying one FRWL. I immediately realised that that was not part of the standard issue of guns for the military.

Oh no.

I tried to sneak out of the bed but one of the "soldiers" caught me.

"Hey you! Why are you moving around!?" one of them commanded.

I cocked my head to him and realised that the person that was talking to me was a Lieutenant.

"Uh... hi?" I replied.

I bent down and reached for the P99 that was on the floor.

"Checkmate!"

I shot the emergency fire extinguisher that was at the back of the helicopter. Everyone took one step back and covered their eyes. In the confusion, I shot the PFC "soldiers", leaving the Majors and Lieutenants standing there blinded. I pulled the trigger. It cocked.

"Shit," I cursed.

Bearing the pain from my back, I reached for the bed. While I was at it, I released the brakes on the rollers.

"Say cheese," I pushed the bed towards the Majors that were staggering at the foam.

They were pushed out of the exit with the bed, sending the interior into havoc. Three Lieutenants were still at one side, now concentrating on the exit door.

"What the hell are you doing!? Are you trying to get us killed!?" one of them shouted over the noise of the helicopter.

"How did you know?" I retorted.

Glancing at the two knives that was on the operating table, I picked them both up, throwing the knife on my left hand to the Lieutenant who said WTH (guess what that means). He fell out of the helicopter, plunging to his death.

I decided to go close range for the second one. I walked briskly towards him and slashed his upper part of his arm followed by the lower arm, almost making it cut off completely.

"AHHH!!!" he screamed in pain. He fell down to the small island down there.

I closed the door.

"You my friend," I said to the last Lieutenant. "This is the luckiest day of your life."

I grabbed him by the collar and dragged him to the cockpit. The cockpit was suitable for four persons, but only three people were inside.

"You three. I'm surprised," I sarcastically said.

"That's right," Evan replied.

"Go and die."

I took Giorgio's gun and shot Giorgio and Evan.

"Rush!" I shouted.

He turned around.

Bad move.

Once he did that, he would be dead.

Well, he is now.

I checked all of their pulses. No sign of heartbeats.

I turned to the Lieutenant. He seemed shocked to see an injured person killing so many people. But hey, you don't see that every day, right?

"Get up. I have some unfinished business with you," I commanded.

He gulped.

**. . . . .**

**Unknown Off-Radar Singapore Base, 1100 hours**

The helicopter landed on the soft ground, slicing some parts of the Singapore base. The place that I was landing the helicopter was not an actual helipad, but it was better than landing four miles away, right?

The force field that was covering the base was extended to a whopping four miles radius, making anything electronic—BOOM!

If you're thinking about how I got inside with the helicopter—

Don't ask.

I got out of the helicopter and sprinted to the entrance to the hostage tower.

The door slammed onto a guard's face, knocking him out.

I ran further up the stairs, scanning for any casualties or guards.

Suddenly, a guard grabbed my neck.

"Arghhh!" I shouted.

He strangled me with his humongous hand while interrogating me.

"Why are you here!?" He interrogated.

I kept quiet.

"Why!?" He said once more.

Hey, I feel something.

"I'm gonna ask you one more time, buddy. Why are you—"

_PLONG!_

The plank of wood hit his head.

"Ow!" He staggered back and let go of my neck.

Ah, fresh air.

"Oof!" I landed on the ground.

The man held his head, bearing the pain of the chunk of wood that was just knocked on him.

I got up, still bearing the pain in my windpipe. Just thinking about it makes me—

OW!

I looked up to find chunks of metal falling from the roof. I had to get to the others. Fast.

I punched the man's face, making it bleed. Grabbing his collar, I kneed his stomach and broke his nose.

"Argh!" He yelped in pain.

Letting go of his collar, I dealt one last uppercut to his chin. He flew back, knocking onto a wall.

Or was it?

The "wall" broke into pieces only to reveal an enclosed room.

"Shortcut. Hee hee," I murmured to myself.

I sprinted inside. It was an empty room with many chemicals inside. I surveyed the room. There were many biohazard signs in the room. Although it looked faded, it looked as if it was authenticated by a Singaporean government. I took one last look, only to find a door with a sign: AUTHORISED PERSONNEL ONLY!

"Jackpot." I murmured.

I slowly opened the door, making it creak.

"Yo."

I fully opened the door only to find Chris, Tom, The Contessa, Laura, Artemis and Otto. Wait. Shouldn't there be one more person?

Wing!

"Untie us. I've had a long day," Artemis said.

"Well, I've had one too," Chris said.

I found a button on the wall.

Closing the door, I said, "Don't worry. I'll all be over. Soon."


End file.
